The field of the present invention is radiators for motorcycles employed for the cooling of coolant or lubricant.
Recent motorcycle designs have emphasized water-cooled engines responsive to the need for greater engine efficiency and reduced air pollution. The use of water-cooled systems gives certain advantages but also can create detrimental results as well. Specifically, water-cooled systems tend to occupy more room than corresponding air-cooled systems. In motorcycle designs, where compactness is very important, the requirement for additional space is disadvantageous.
In the case of radiators for water-cooled systems, the radiators have been generally placed behind the front fork of the motorcycle and in front of the engine. This location is generally limited because of the normal stroke of the front fork assembly. To avoid interference between a radiator mounted in this location and the front fender or wheel, the motorcycle may be extended in length. This is undesirable and generally requires greater structure and weight. Additionally, the space problem becomes greater when a V-engine is employed with the front cylinder bank extending forwardly toward the front fork assembly. One such configuration is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings where it can be seen that additional space is required for location of the radiator. Furthermore, to employ a radiator of adequate capacity in the position behind the front fork assembly where air flow is disturbed, a larger radiator is desirable as illustrated in dotted line in FIG. 1.